KATHMANDU, Sept 17: The Nepal Medical Association (NMA) has halted all non-emergency services in all hospitals across the country today. The association has announced a protest and has stopped all non-emergency services in all hospitals across the country today, saying that legal action hasn’t been taken against culprits involved in the physical assault on the doctor of Sancho Hospital in Hetauda.

The NMA in a statement on Saturday said that all health services except emergency services will be completely closed today in all government health institutions, hospitals, medical colleges, private hospitals and clinics across the country.

The NMA has alleged that an attack took place on September 13 at Sancho Hospital involving Dr Vikas Thapa and Dr Prashant Bidari. They have accused those responsible for the attack of committing a criminal offense. The association has given the government a 72-hour ultimatum, starting from the day of the incident, to take legal action against the culprits.

The NMA also emphasized that all the culprits involved in the incident should be immediately investigated and criminal charges should be brought and legal action should be taken according to the Ordinance Relating to the Security of the Health Workers and Health Institutions (First Amendment) 2079 BS.

In its statement, the NMA also called for the mandatory deployment of security personnel at healthcare institutions across the country to ensure a safe and secure environment for healthcare workers.

The NMA alleged that instead of arresting the culprits of the Hetauda hospital incident and taking legal action, the responsible persons of the local security agency, district administration office, district police office are trying to suppress the incident, and demanded that the relevant agencies should be investigated and penalized according to the law. The NMA has also demanded a written commitment not to remain silent in such incidents in the future.

 
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